Switching Gas / Elec What to look out for

Where do you see the cent per Kwh, my bill for Airtricity says .1854 per unit? And the unit number is different for the standing charge. (lower) Rate is .6939
 
Bronte said:
Where do you see the cent per Kwh, my bill for Airtricity says .1854 per unit? And the unit number is different for the standing charge. (lower) Rate is .6939
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The rates above are for gas. Your rates look like electricity?
 
Just for info, I pay 5.5 cent per unit for gas, ex VAT, and then I get a 35% discount.

So my real price is 3.575 cent ex VAT, with Energia.
 
Just for info, I pay 19.38 cent per unit for elec, ex VAT, and then I get a 41% discount.

So my real price is 11.43 cent ex VAT, with Energia.
 
I have found to do an accurate, true and correct comparison, you need at least 12 months of “actual” bills,(not estimated i use two years myself to get a better average for 1 year. Usages vary year to year, so one harsh winter can skew your figures.

So i start off with actual unit consumption for a 12 month period, based on previous 2 years.

Having the Actual usage, use this to compare, have found bonkers more accurate, as you can enter actual annual units of gas & electricity used.

Have moved to same supplier, but have also been on seperate suppliers, as i am at the moment. I have solar for water heating, and my gas usage is well below average, meaning the standing charge can be very impactful. Have been with Flogas many times as their lower standing charge for gas,often tipps the balance.

Having done the above comparison, i then check for any cashback offers. I have all the broadband controlled thermostats and energy bulbs already, so i ignore these from my comparison.

Finally, same exercise, needs to be done every single year.
 
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Protocol said:
Just for info, I pay 5.5 cent per unit for gas, ex VAT, and then I get a 35% discount.

So my real price is 3.575 cent ex VAT, with Energia.
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(Thanks Redonion it was the electic.)

So for Gas with SSE Airtricity I pay

SmartSaver Gas .0553 per unit 4,838.00 units
Standing charge .2790 (but the units are way lower at 61)
Carbon Tax .0037 per unit 4838.00 units
Then VAT on those.
 
This used to be viable, at least with Electric Ireland, but I believe they've all wised up to this now and there's a clawback for the cashback in their contracts now if you leave before the year is up.
 
Bronte said:
Standing charge .2790 (but the units are way lower at 61)
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A standing charge is the daily fee that you must pay, regardless of how much gas you use. The 61 units here is the 61 days in your 2 month billing cycle ( this varies a bit depending on the months but is usually around 60)
 
Bronte said:
(Thanks Redonion it was the electic.)

So for Gas with SSE Airtricity I pay

SmartSaver Gas .0553 per unit 4,838.00 units
Standing charge .2790 (but the units are way lower at 61)
Carbon Tax .0037 per unit 4838.00 units
Then VAT on those.
Click to expand...

That's a fairly high rate to be paying for gas, do you have a discount mentioned on your bill? Some companies just show their standard rates then have a line item for the discount that's deducted from the total of the standard charges ( just to make the bill even more unclear)
 
Coldwarrior said:
A standing charge is the daily fee that you must pay, regardless of how much gas you use. The 61 units here is the 61 days in your 2 month billing cycle ( this varies a bit depending on the months but is usually around 60)
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I've gone onto the website you guys mentioned. Bonkers.ie to compare. Seems my electricity is fine but my gas I can do way better on. Bonkers also made me realise that my cost is not .0553, it's 5.53 per Kwh. The standing charge is not .2790 it's actually 27.9 cent per Kwh. I might phone up SSE and tell them I can get a much better rate and see what they say.
 
Bronte said:
I might phone up SSE and tell them I can get a much better rate and see what they say.
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Are you still in a contract with them? If not you're better off switching away to whoever is shown as cheapest for your usage on bonkers. SSE are rarely in the top 4 most competitive for prices.
 
Slim said:
I used Bonkers.ie just recently to switch electricity provider from BG to Energia. All online, took a few minutes, input ref number and bank account. They even sent me a key for the electric box to read the meter. Very easy process.
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After I filled in the online forms, Bord Gais phoned me to offer a 25% discount to stay with them. I declined because I didn't have the rates to hand. Happy to try Energia for 1 year.
 
Coldwarrior said:
Are you still in a contract with them? If not you're better off switching away to whoever is shown as cheapest for your usage on bonkers. SSE are rarely in the top 4 most competitive for prices.
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As I said the gas and electric are two bills that drive be batty. The figures I gave you were for 2019 as I've just completed my tax returns literally yesterday (late but as I've overpaid no surcharge etc) . So today I'd planned to phone up to get a better rate and I had a look at the 2020 gas bills.

Looks like I moved to 1 year Home Gas 10% on 29th Jan 2020. .0518 = 5.18 which in May changed to .0459 = 4.59. But all the bills also have the Smartsaver Gas at .0553 = 5.53. So I'm lost. Then last Septembers bill is much easier, just the one 1 year Home Gas 10% .0459 = 4.59.

I put that last one into Bonkers and they said I was paying 5.1 cent (without VAT) . So that's confusing me now. But if I move to Iberdrola it would be 3.69 without VAT. And I'd save €364 annually. Energia would be 4.68. How come Protocol is paying 3.575.

Please note it's a large consumption as it's a house divided into 3 flats. And they might have the heat on on a summer's day with the windows open.

(Thanks for bearing with me)
 
So I phoned up SSAirtricty. My one year discount of 10% (1 year home gas10%) is 10% off the Standard rate. Which was 5.53 in Jan, making it 5.18 for me. But energy prices went down in May, and I was paying 4.59 from then - it's even more confusing because I got two Reversed bills in a row. May reversed March and July reversed May. But I figured out on bonkers that I can input what I actually pay. 4.59. And I'd save €272 annually. With Iberdrola at 3.69 which is pretty close to what Protocol is paying.

SSAirtricity can today back date me onto the 10% discount to 29h Jan when my contract and I'd be on 4.59, but what I didn't realise is these contracts aren't actually fixed, and prices can go up and down. When you fix a contract I had to listen and agree to a load of things on the phone last year but it was so complicated I tuned out.
 
Bronte,

the headline gas price with Energia is 5.5 cent excl VAT.

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That is since June 2020, and yes, prices can fall and rise, within a 12 month contract.

Then different customers get different % discounts off the standard rate, depending on sales channels, competition, offers, etc.

I get 35% off, so = 3.575 cent excl VAT.

Or 4.33 cent per unit incl 21% VAT.
 
When shopping around this week for Electricity prices (currently with Energia) I notice that the annual standing charge varies greatly between sellers.

Do you look at the unit price of electricity or the fixed annual standing charge price? I assume that most people look at both. I appear to be using about 400 units per two months. The best saving I can get is about 2 cents on my current plan per unit or €8 every two months. However I can save over €80 on the fixed annual standing charge.

Bonkers have a special promotion for those signing up with Glow Power. Has anyone switched to these and what is their experience like with that company.
 
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